Apple's Steve Jobs slams Google, RIM, and rival tablet makers on conference call

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Comments

  • Reply 141 of 180
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Daniel001 View Post


    Steve, you're running the second largest company in the world, you really don't need to bitch like this.



    LOL. And you are in a position to bitch about Steve because...?
  • Reply 142 of 180
    I think it's important to understand the context that any of Steve's comments are made. This was all said during annual financial reportings, and these are answers to peoples questions. What makes each one of Steve's responses brillaint, isn't that he's comforting every consumer on the market. He is in fact, reassuring investors that Apple understands the market, and has a very tangible plan and philosophy in dominating this market. Investors can see this confidence, and feel good about it. To that end, Steve nailed this interview.



    As far as satsifying customers and the general public alike, we'll have to wait for wednesday's event for that.
  • Reply 143 of 180
    wonderwonder Posts: 229member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    I'm sick of saying this already, but everyone is just not noticing how senseless his remarks are. Jobs is saying 7" tablets are not viable because they are too small to have a good UI, but the iPhone is smaller and has a good UI. It's just not a sensible argument.



    That is because the iPhone has a different UI to the iPad.



    Think before you speak!
  • Reply 144 of 180
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hatunike View Post


    I think it's important to understand the context that any of Steve's comments are made. This was all said during annual financial reportings, and these are answers to peoples questions. What makes each one of Steve's responses brillaint, isn't that he's comforting every consumer on the market. He is in fact, reassuring investors that Apple understands the market, and has a very tangible plan and philosophy in dominating this market. Investors can see this confidence, and feel good about it. To that end, Steve nailed this interview.



    As far as satsifying customers and the general public alike, we'll have to wait for wednesday's event for that.



    I first, "saw" the earnings call via ARS live blog. I was a little surprised and disappointed when I read what was posted-- it did "sound" a little whiney and the blogger called it Steve's rant.



    Later I listened to the earnings call. Here are my impressions.



    I have seen/heard Steve give presentations to audiences from 30 people to thousands of people -- including the 1984 Mac introduction at Flint Center.



    Steve's keynotes/presentations are usually given before a group of highly-technical and [mostly] adoring fans.



    This was different!



    What I heard in Steve's voice was not whining or bitching. What I heard was Steve making a presentation to audience he was unsure of -- an audience he could not even see.



    Steve has made brief comments before similar audiences -- but usually it was "announce a few successes" and let the "numbers" speak for themselves.



    In this particular presentation (and the Q&A is a planned part of the presentation), Steve wanted to educate and convince an audience that he could neither see, nor identify with.



    Since this is is an Earnings Call and he is a CEO, Steve had to be careful of what he said and how he said it.



    It appeared that Steve was reading his presentation -- significantly different from his normal mode of presentation -- from memory, cued by notes.



    Steve was trying to demo the difference between a 10" tablet and a 7" tablet over the phone -- to an audience that couldn't see him. He had to verbally paint the "picture" for the audience who couldn't look at the "big screen".



    His comment about using sandpaper to sand down your fingers to be able touch the smaller controls (on a screen 45% as large as the iPad screen)-- was an illustration, a joke that fell flat (at a keynote, this would have brought screams from the audience).



    I think that Steve was frustrated that he had to do it at all -- that he had to explain what should be obvius to all but the casual observer.





    With all of these disadvantages, it appeared that Steve wanted to convince the investment community that:

    -- Apple has done their homework

    -- Apple understands the Marketplace

    -- Apple understands the Device's (iDevices) technical capabilities

    -- Apple understands the Competition

    -- Apple understands their Customers

    -- Apple knows what they are doing

    -- Apple has taken the best approach - For Apple, For Apple Investors, For their Customers - for the short and long term



    I think that Steve did a very good job -- maybe the best that could be done, under the circumstances.



    .
  • Reply 145 of 180
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Daniel001 View Post


    Steve, you're running the second largest company in the world, you really don't need to bitch like this.



    I thought it was some good candour. He's not the Dalai Lama or the Second Coming or what not. Just good for him to let it rip. Better out than in.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FormerARSgm View Post


    Missing from the call - any mention of the 'Halo effect'. I suppose it's just too obvious at this point. Clearly - the halo is big and bright.



    The 'Halo effect' is now almost hard to quantify - we've got iPhones flying out the door, iPads selling more than Macs in about only half a year of operation. Think about that. iPads are only available in 26 countries and they outsold all Macs sold globally. It's just one synergistic "thing". Everything halo effects everything else.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    I'm sick of saying this already, but everyone is just not noticing how senseless his remarks are. Jobs is saying 7" tablets are not viable because they are too small to have a good UI, but the iPhone is smaller and has a good UI. It's just not a sensible argument.



    Well, he said a tablet interface on 7" is not useable. The iPhone is smaller and has a smartphone UI. The iPad is much bigger and has a tablet UI. The 7" is no-mans-land, that's what he's trying to say. Too big for a smartphone interface/ form-factor, yet too small for tablet interfacing. We'll see how the market does. Never underestimate the demand for crapulent gadgetry.



    In other news, yay my iPad will not look so outdated (hopefully) when iPad 2 comes out.
  • Reply 146 of 180
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post


    I first, "saw" the earnings call via ARS live blog. I was a little surprised and disappointed when I read what was posted-- it did "sound" a little whiney and the blogger called it Steve's rant.



    Later I listened to the earnings call. Here are my impressions.



    I have seen/heard Steve give presentations to audiences from 30 people to thousands of people -- including the 1984 Mac introduction at Flint Center.



    Steve's keynotes/presentations are usually given before a group of highly-technical and [mostly] adoring fans.



    This was different!



    What I heard in Steve's voice was not whining or bitching. What I heard was Steve making a presentation to audience he was unsure of -- an audience he could not even see.



    [And other good points]




    I liked the tone. The reporting is going to be all screwed up in the traditional and online media. You just gotta listen to the conference call yourself, peoples. It was more mature and not as mollycoddling as with his keynotes, which are really quite mass-appeal kind of things. This one was him sitting down, and like, let's get down to business, this is what I really think. I mean openly criticising Google and RIM and tablet competitors, it was pretty awesome actually. And finally, he let us know why they're keeping over $50 billion in cash - acquisition opportunities... Hmm Adobe? LOL
  • Reply 147 of 180
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post


    Does this mean that iPhones and iPod touches are unusable?



    Come on guys, you know he's referring to tablet UIs. Phones have phone UIs.
  • Reply 148 of 180
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    I liked the tone. The reporting is going to be all screwed up in the traditional and online media. You just gotta listen to the conference call yourself, peoples. It was more mature and not as mollycoddling as with his keynotes, which are really quite mass-appeal kind of things. This one was him sitting down, and like, let's get down to business, this is what I really think. I mean openly criticising Google and RIM and tablet competitors, it was pretty awesome actually. And finally, he let us know why they're keeping over $50 billion in cash - acquisition opportunities... Hmm Adobe? LOL



    Think of Steve Jobs (Apple) negotiating or sparring with the likes of Adobe:



    Do you think it has any effect on negotiations when both parties know that one of them could easily buy the other for cash?... and doesn't!



    What does that do to your self esteem?



    .
  • Reply 149 of 180
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    I dont know jack sh*t, but were I to recommend an acquisition target to Apple, would recommend Akamei.



    Dont know if they are for sale, though.



    Apple can use their expertise for the cloud.
  • Reply 150 of 180
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stevetim View Post


    Agreed, but if you listened, his tone was very whiny when talking about the 7" form and the google problem of oem's doing proprietary things to android.



    He is correct of course, but the tone was whiny.

    At the ATD interview he sounded like a guru ... here he was whining.



    Being correct is a matter of interpretation. Obviously, the millions of people who have bought HTC, Moto, and Samsung Android devices don't really "care" about the OEM proprietary issue. They have more CHOICES with Android, and that's what will sell devices. This will continue even more with Gingerbread Android 3.0. Jobs wouldn't even discuss Android if he didn't think iPhone was reaching its peak. Android is a very real and serious threat to iPhone's rise.



    Up next.....Google will now state that they're activating X number of Android devices!



    Isn't competition just great for us?
  • Reply 151 of 180
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    I didn't see this posted yet. Did anyone see the Reuters story where the writer is apparently on crack?



    http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST...S+%2F+Top+News)



    Quote:

    Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs went on the offensive on Monday after a rare disappointment in sales by the iPad maker sent its shares tumbling, but even his biting words failed to reverse market sentiment.



    Quote:

    Gross margins fell short of target as iPads, whose profit margin is lower than it is for iPhones, made up a larger proportion of Apple's sales. Investors had expected more from a company that had smashed Wall Street's targets in each of the past eight quarters.



    The last one is the worst, because it makes it seem like Apple sold more iPads than iPhones.
  • Reply 152 of 180
    onhkaonhka Posts: 1,025member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post


    I first, "saw" the earnings call via ARS live blog. I was a little surprised and disappointed when I read what was posted-- it did "sound" a little whiney and the blogger called it Steve's rant.



    Later I listened to the earnings call. Here are my impressions.



    I have seen/heard Steve give presentations to audiences from 30 people to thousands of people -- including the 1984 Mac introduction at Flint Center.



    Steve's keynotes/presentations are usually given before a group of highly-technical and [mostly] adoring fans.



    This was different!



    What I heard in Steve's voice was not whining or bitching. What I heard was Steve making a presentation to audience he was unsure of -- an audience he could not even see.



    Steve has made brief comments before similar audiences -- but usually it was "announce a few successes" and let the "numbers" speak for themselves.



    In this particular presentation (and the Q&A is a planned part of the presentation), Steve wanted to educate and convince an audience that he could neither see, nor identify with.



    Since this is is an Earnings Call and he is a CEO, Steve had to be careful of what he said and how he said it.



    It appeared that Steve was reading his presentation -- significantly different from his normal mode of presentation -- from memory, cued by notes.



    Steve was trying to demo the difference between a 10" tablet and a 7" tablet over the phone -- to an audience that couldn't see him. He had to verbally paint the "picture" for the audience who couldn't look at the "big screen".



    His comment about using sandpaper to sand down your fingers to be able touch the smaller controls (on a screen 45% as large as the iPad screen)-- was an illustration, a joke that fell flat (at a keynote, this would have brought screams from the audience).



    I think that Steve was frustrated that he had to do it at all -- that he had to explain what should be obvius to all but the casual observer.





    With all of these disadvantages, it appeared that Steve wanted to convince the investment community that:

    -- Apple has done their homework

    -- Apple understands the Marketplace

    -- Apple understands the Device's (iDevices) technical capabilities

    -- Apple understands the Competition

    -- Apple understands their Customers

    -- Apple knows what they are doing

    -- Apple has taken the best approach - For Apple, For Apple Investors, For their Customers - for the short and long term



    I think that Steve did a very good job -- maybe the best that could be done, under the circumstances.



    .



    I too listened to the Conference call. First in transit, and after perusing through this forum, twice more since.



    I agree with you Dick. Steve was not whining or bitching. I would, in fact, contend that such a description did not fill the definition, i.e., complain, whine, grumble, grouse; informal whinge, moan, grouch, gripe.



    Such a definition would be accurate if the quarter had been disastrous and Steve was attempting to counter the lies that have been perpetrated by Apple's competition and/or the typical trolls that infest here.



    This was Steve setting the record straight. Much like he did with the iPhone 4 antenna issues. Competition and the troll like here have been dissing Apple in an effort to protect their domains and interests respectively. To their chagrin, Steve is not taking it anymore. What he said was true. Not the loads of crap or conjectures professed here.



    By the way, has anybody noted that Steve was right, again. Amazing that over 11 thousand iPhone 4's later, and not a whisper. And after the launch of the so-called iPad killers, and their quick demise, another dearth of silence will arise. Thank God.



    It is also interesting to note that with many of you, Steve can do no right. That you were probably of the same make up of idiots that chastized him for stopping to take part in financial conference calls a few years back.



    And like Howard Beale, I am sure that Steve and many of us now are saying, "I'm as mad as hell,. and I'm not going to take this anymore!!"
  • Reply 153 of 180
    jasenj1jasenj1 Posts: 923member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post


    I didn't see this posted yet. Did anyone see the Reuters story where the writer is apparently on crack?



    The last one is the worst, because it makes it seem like Apple sold more iPads than iPhones.



    I watched the TODAY show with breakfast this morning. The financial talking head came on and talked about disappointing earnings from Apple. WHAT!? Record quarter. Supply constrained on the iPhone & iPad, i.e. selling as fast as they can make them. How could that possibly be disappointing?



    Oh, well, you know, gross margins were down 5%. Investors are very concerned about these eroding margins.



    It just strengthened my belief that you should believe less than half of what you hear on the news. Anytime I personally know the facts of a story, the reporters get it mostly wrong.



    - Jasen.
  • Reply 154 of 180
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jasenj1 View Post


    I watched the TODAY show with breakfast this morning. The financial talking head came on and talked about disappointing earnings from Apple. WHAT!? Record quarter. Supply constrained on the iPhone & iPad, i.e. selling as fast as they can make them. How could that possibly be disappointing?



    Oh, well, you know, gross margins were down 5%. Investors are very concerned about these eroding margins.



    It just strengthened my belief that you should believe less than half of what you hear on the news. Anytime I personally know the facts of a story, the reporters get it mostly wrong.



    - Jasen.



    Yup, much like the news that the iPhone 4 was doomed and people were abandoning it in droves because of the antenna issues, and that Apple would be forced (if they haven't already) to recall the product.



    Isn't it more clear now than ever that the Fed, Wall Street and the Newsmedia have just no f**ing idea whatsoever what is really going on. It's all air and whim and fancy with a bit of soundbites thrown in and numbers pulled out of rear ends or selectively plucked from the vine.
  • Reply 155 of 180
    jetzjetz Posts: 1,293member
    I'm sorry but that appearance and the digs at competitors just smacked of desperation. Especially when he was purposefully deceptive (comparing iOS device stats with Android phone stats) or speaking for others when he had no clue what he was talking about (like his comments which were outright refuted by Tweetdeck).



    I don't get the point of this kind of behaviour. Be happy with your company's accomplishments. They are phenomenal after all. Brag about them and move on. For however much Steve Jobs is a brilliant chap, crap like this just makes him look desperate and worried about the competition.
  • Reply 156 of 180
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jetz View Post


    I'm sorry but that appearance and the digs at competitors just smacked of desperation. Especially when he was purposefully deceptive (comparing iOS device stats with Android phone stats) or speaking for others when he had no clue what he was talking about (like his comments which were outright refuted by Tweetdeck).



    I don't get the point of this kind of behaviour. Be happy with your company's accomplishments. They are phenomenal after all. Brag about them and move on. For however much Steve Jobs is a brilliant chap, crap like this just makes him look desperate and worried about the competition.



    Hmm... Apple, desperate after their best quarter ever, and it's not even a holiday quarter. I think not.



    Steve ain't perfect but all the media and hype is all about how Android is the best thing since sliced bread. This was an investor event and it was fitting for someone to defend their position and even fire a few shots across the bows of the competitors. If he's not right about Tweetdeck and Android fragmentation then that should be called out as incorrect. But desperate, probably not. Aggressive, yes. Possibly sounding like a dick? No less than other corporate executives.
  • Reply 157 of 180
    wovelwovel Posts: 956member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by os2baba View Post


    Every time he talks about Android, he seems to be coming unhinged.



    Receall that Google devoted an entire conference (Every main stage presentation) to bashing Apple. Maybe Steve should grow up, or maybe he should enjoy the opportunity to gloat as they are kicking the crap out of Google and the 20 or 30 manufacturers competing against them with Googles software.



    14.1 million is a big FU to all of them. The 4.8b (or whatever the exact number was) is an even bigger one.
  • Reply 158 of 180
    wovelwovel Posts: 956member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post


    I didn't see this posted yet. Did anyone see the Reuters story where the writer is apparently on crack?



    http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST...S+%2F+Top+News)











    The last one is the worst, because it makes it seem like Apple sold more iPads than iPhones.





    Keep in mind you are quoting a financial reporter that knows as much about investing as a 6th grader. He actually believes activity in the after hours market means something. A bunch of smart guys fleeced a bunch of sheep who believed a load of hype.
  • Reply 159 of 180
    mj webmj web Posts: 918member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cascadians View Post


    Listened, Steve is awesome, on a very articulate brilliant roll! Very enthusiastic, precise, well thought out, clear as a bell. What a Titan! All cylinders firing like a rocket!



    +1 > Hard to think of anyone more competitive than Steve. He's the Wilt Chamberlain of Silicon Valley!
  • Reply 160 of 180
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jetz View Post


    I'm sorry but that appearance and the digs at competitors just smacked of desperation. Especially when he was purposefully deceptive (comparing iOS device stats with Android phone stats) or speaking for others when he had no clue what he was talking about (like his comments which were outright refuted by Tweetdeck).



    I don't get the point of this kind of behaviour. Be happy with your company's accomplishments. They are phenomenal after all. Brag about them and move on. For however much Steve Jobs is a brilliant chap, crap like this just makes him look desperate and worried about the competition.



    Had I only read the live blogs or transcript, I mostly would have agreed with you.



    After listening to the call, I came away with quite a different impression (as I detailed in a prior post).



    Steve took the opportunity of having the investment community press gathered (via phone) to define Apples goals and positions. Some of these positions are, even now, being attacked and misrepresented by others.



    Steve took the opportunity to set the record straight. Steve would have been remiss in his duties as Apple CEO had he not done so.



    I (and many others) do not feel comparing iOS stats to Android stats is deceptive. Steve was presenting his case in a way that highlights Apple accomplishments -- one of the purposes of the earnings call.



    As to the twitter deck remarks, Steve said:



    Quote:

    "Twitter client, TwitterDeck, recently launched their app for Android. They Reported that they had to contend with more than a hundred different versions of Android (software) on 244 different handsets. The multiple hardware and software iterations presents developers with a daunting challenge. Many Android apps work only on selected Android handsets running selected Android versions. [And this is for the hand] This is for handsets that have been shipped less than 12 months ago. Compare this with iPhone where there are two versions of the software -- the current and the most recent predecessor to test against."



    The response as quoted from this article:



    Quote:

    Iain Dodsworth, CEO of TweetDeck, quickly responded to Jobs' comments via Twitter, and said he believes Android fragmentation is actually a "small" issue.



    "Did we at any point say it was a nightmare developing on Android?" Dodsworth wrote on his Twitter account. "Err nope, no we didn't. It wasn't."



    He later followed up: "WE only have 2 guys developing on Android TweetDeck so that shows how small an issue fragmentation is."



    The TweetDeck CEO did not refute Jobs contentions of fragmentation (the number of handsets and the number of Android versions)-- "said he believes Android fragmentation is actually a "small" issue.".



    He went on to say it wasn't a nightmare. Steve never said it was a nightmare, he said it was daunting.



    He also said: "WE only have 2 guys developing on Android TweetDeck so that shows how small an issue fragmentation is."



    He didn't say how many "guys" (or their expertise) were working on iOS versions.





    Now, This is a large developer -- 16 developers including the CEO, developing for Mac, PC, Linux, OS X, iOS and Android.



    Likely, they are provided easy (free) access to multiple handsets and associated Android OS versions by the OEMs





    For a small developer of 1-3 people, iterative testing of hundreds of versions of Android on 244 different (current) handsets is daunting from a manpower perspective.



    The small developer, likely needs to purchase the handsets, and 244 would be daunting from a financial perspective.





    Finally, TweetDeck's currently featured product is Android TweetDeck -- I would expect the CEO to:



    "Ac-cen-tuate the Positive, E-lim-inate the Negative"... and "Don't mess with mister in-between".



    With apologies to Johnny Mercer.





    http://www.tweetdeck.com/



    .
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